( OPEN ) just a pinch of salt in the wound; you'll be fine

[gynvael]

Who: Geralt + Victims You
When: August // Aguril
Where: Various
What: Full moon feral shenanigans; events/quests later down the line
Warnings: Violence

[ prompts in comments. find me at discontinued for plotting. ]

OPEN: feral wolf | post full moon | basement bonanza curses

CLOSED: feral wolf: jaskier+yennefer | antler fruit: jaskier

Comments

[cointosser]

[Jaskier scoffs.] Yes. You've made them abundantly clear.

[And his answer, still, remains the same: and yet, here we are. Somehow still together despite having crossed from their sphere in another's. Along with the sorceress. It is the sort of romantic ideal Jaskier would write in a ballad. Lives tied together, for better or for worse. Through life, death, and changes.

It's not the answer he wants. Not that he wants the one he expects, either. A crack in his self-confidence he finds annoying as much as it is sad, that he cannot seem to repair. He knows well that words said in the heat of a moment are cruel indeed, but always with a thread of truth.

He follows into the booth anyway. He is unwilling to drop the subject for his foolish insecurities.

Jaskier jerks his head up, having been working on positioning his sore arm into a more comfortable angle.] She died? What? She failed to mention that huge fucking deal. [Only that the battle went less than well. He'd never imagined she'd... she'd died. He can only imagine what having heard that must have done to his friend. What is there to be said about it? Jaskier knows of some magic here, but he has no explanation for what sort of magic had kept her, or brought her back, to life.]

I see. [His shock is still there in the stiffness of his body, leaning back into the bench. The Witcher's sorceress love, dead? Though Jaskier knows better, the idea of either of these two immortals dying, especially before him, is unthinkable. They've lived so long already. (Well, he doesn't know Yennefer's age, but he's not so fool to ask, either.)

After a moment, when someone has come by with drinks and he's let his heart run its course through fear, and anxiety, and sickness, he sighs. Possibly, this decision could be entirely his worst yet. But he can't... there's no way to leave this as it is alone.]

I suppose if I die with the two of you, at least my name will be remembered.

[gynvael]

[ Geralt's gaze turns sharp. It's more complicated than her just dying. It's that she has told him she will return, should they manage it, to a battle where she will choose to do so. A noble fucking act, apparently. One he can't justify telling her not to make and yet he wants to, anyway. Because it's --

Not fair, is the childish thought that leaves his mind. He puts it aside. It doesn't matter. They're still trapped here for the foreseeable future. But he can't help feeling as if he's on borrowed time when it comes to her Every reminder of that hurts.

And if it were anyone else, Geralt would say they didn't deserve a bonded with as much shit going on as him. But he's known Jaskier for years. The bard is not a man who acts on anything less than what he wants. If Jaskier is pursuing this, then he has his reasons. (It's perhaps those reasons that also make Geralt so uncertain. They imply...a deeper friendship than what Geralt has, even after all this time, tried to tell himself Jaskier's companionship is.

Even if he's aware it's a lie. Jaskier has been by his side longer than anyone else ever has. He won't deny he hadn't regretted Jaskier's missing presence after the dragon hunt. Acknowledging it so firmly, however, by agreeing to bond is something else.)

He frowns at Jaskier's offhand reply. The wish is not supposed to bleed through the bond. He doesn't think it will. But the reality is he doesn't know and the possibility is there. He sighs, deciding not to press. ]

I've told you what you needed to know. [ He rests his fingers on the handle of his mug. He'll need to handle the fact that Jaskier now knows, with Yennefer. But he's not about to have this conversation with something like that obscured. ] Just keep it to yourself until I've talked to her.

[cointosser]

[Geralt's reaction is disappointing. It's clearly the most noble thing Jaskier has ever said, and he barely gets a grunt out of it. Jaskier stretches his arms out, careful of the hurt one, placing the ring down in front of him.

Maybe he should've kept it on, actually. It certainly forces a sense of levity.

He snorts.] We've spoken a few times, but I don't believe we're bosom companions quite yet. [Their conversations were brief and full of snipes and... things may be different, now he thinks about it, now that Jaskier can no longer see her as only a witch he intensely dislikes (and is afraid of). She is, unfortunately, more complicated than that. And he knows that.

Jaskier takes a moment to draw a long few swallows of his drink. He licks his lips, starts and stops a few times as he decides what he wants to say. How to phrase it. Funny, considering he hardly puts much effort into it most days. And never with Geralt. Will he turn him down? Probably. And what will he do with himself after? Geralt cannot just ignore the fact he requires a bond. Jaskier likes to think, with him, it'd be easy. He has no expectations that will fail to be met. On the other hand...

Perhaps he has Yennefer in mind instead.

So how to approach it? Bringing up that question about Yennefer is, er, probably not a very good idea. So he... Ah. He's got it.] I'm going to take a page from your book, Geralt, and simply ask you it, because I think it's the only way I'll ever get an answer out of you. Will you bond with me, or not?

[gynvael]

[ While Jaskier mulls over his thoughts, Geralt says nothing. There's a reason he's agreed to sit and talk with Jaskier: this is not a topic he's only thought about now. He's been thinking about it since before the full moon and especially afterwards.

He did have Yennefer in mind. Still does. But he's aware there's more than one person who can be invited into the bond. She's already turned him down, besides. She has good reason to hesitate; Geralt won't lie and say it doesn't sting, but he's not about to push it. Especially not when he's already responsible for binding them in an entirely different way. (He's still hoping, in time, she might change her mind. But who the fuck knows.)

So when Jaskier asks, he knows he's already come to a decision. As much as he has his reservations, the one thing he won't do is risk anyone else's life. What might happen with the wish is uncertain; what will occur the next moon is not. Geralt prefers to deal with immediate problems first. The rest -- he'll handle it if it comes. When it comes. ]

Yes. [ His answer is given unceremoniously. Geralt tips his drink back. Jaskier knows what he's getting into and has made his choice regardless. That will have to be enough. ] Though I don't imagine it'll drive you to exasperate me any less.

[cointosser]

[Jaskier somehow manages to stumble in his seat, nearly dropping his tankard but righting it up at the last moment. Only a little ale dribbles down the side.] Come again?

[He blinks. He. Yes? He just. Agreed? Oh. Wow. Shit.]

Gods, I thought that'd be a lot harder. I was all ready to spend some time convincing you or -- convincing you to find someone who might better suit, if that was the case --

[He stops, huffing at his friend. Of course Geralt would agree to bond with him and then follow it up by calling him annoying. As much as he wishes it didn't affect him at all, that Geralt would agree does lift his spirits quite a bit. It becomes easier to believe the things he said were just... things.

They didn't know exactly what the bond would be like, either of them. Yet he trusted Geralt had done research. They both must have.] You're quite lucky I hold nothing against you, or you would be hearing about it all the time. And don't say you do hear it all the time anyway.

[gynvael]

[ Another time, Geralt might've felt some satisfaction in startling Jaskier like that. Someone who might better suit. There truthfully is no one. Between Jaskier and Yennefer, they're the only two here he trusts. At least that much has never been in question. He knows whatever happens, they will be there. That night had more than proven that.

He worries, anyway. Losing them, one way or another. Throughout his life, the only people who have remained constant have been his fellow Witchers. And even then— ]

I do. [ He gives Jaskier a look, but this time when the barkeep comes by, he pays for their drinks. His question is casual enough, but some concern hovers in between the lines. He knows not everyone would still find such easy company with someone who tried to tear their throat out. ] Did they say when you'll be able to play again?

[cointosser]

I said not to -- you really are the worst, you know? [Jaskier pushes against his shoulder. It does nothing, of course, a fact which used to annoy Jaskier to no end. Now he feels a horrible swell of fondness for his crotchety, deadly friend. It's. Relief. For himself and for Geralt.

He can get the upper hand on his magic this way. Hopefully.

He takes a long swallow of his drink, finishing it off with a satisfied ahh. Normally he might try to pay himself, yet... well, considering he isn't making much coin right now, it's only fair.] Oh, you're concerned about me? That's sweet. [He smiled.] Not too much longer. My healing spells are getting better. Which, you know, lucky for you. You've cost me plenty. And your sorceress took most of my savings.

[gynvael]

[ Geralt rolls his eyes. That's the only appropriate response to Jaskier asking if he's concerned. (He is.) It also suits as a response to Jaskier complaining about his savings when he was the one who offered the coin up in the first place.

Though he's got another reply to follow up on that thread: he unfolds a parchment and slides it across the table. Lots of contracts around the city. Not many this lucrative, though. On paper, the task sounds difficult. But he can track with ease and Jaskier, he remembers, knows a sleeping spell.

Not a hard plan to pull together. ]

I need your enchanted explosives. A sleeping powder. [ He picks up his tankard. ] We'll split the money and call it even.

[ Yennefer, is a different matter. She will take her favors from him, if that's what she wants. Likely, she will, because it's easier to call it pulling in a favor than it is to ask him for help. And he knows, in return, that it won't have anything to do with owing her when he agrees to do what she might ask. ]

[cointosser]

[He did technically offer, but now that she's safely not around, Jaskier will, of course, complain about it. However, what he won't say is that his attitude towards the witch has certainly changed. Whether it's a side of her that she has always harbored or one borne from that night, she's not quite... not quite the bristling bitch he'd always known her to be. She was more than that.

He'd suspected, given Geralt's disposition towards her. Even still, this was certainly different. He'd been surprised --

Like he was now. Jaskier gasps, loud, his hand swiftly moving to his heart.] Tell me I did not hear that right. The White Wolf, needing me for something? Oh, by the gods. I've truly been granted a boon tonight!

[Geralt had made a mistake. He would absolutely never hear the end of this. And Jaskier hadn't even picked up the parchment yet.

He did now, muttering to himself about the mighty Witcher deigning to ask a lowly, (apparently) delicious bard for help.

Oh. Deer?] That's excessively generous of you. [Ahh. It's actually a good idea. If the deer couldn't be killed...] How about we call it our first bonding experience? [The pun holds heavy in the air.] I'll make some. But I'm going with you, too.

[gynvael]

[ This is exactly the reason he doesn't ever give Jaskier an inch. Geralt stares at the bard, unmoved, while Jaskier gestures and makes dramatic declarations to himself about the nature of the Witcher asking for a singular sleeping bomb from him.

He reaches over, slowly, and pushes down the contract in Jaskier's hands, so that he can look him in the eye. ] Do not encourage me throw you in the lake before we even leave.

[ He takes the contract back. He does not dignify that pun with any acknowledgement. Jaskier doesn't need any additional encouragement for puns. And yeah. He's implicitly agreed to let Jaskier come. He supposes it's been some time since the bard has accompanied him and he owes him material for a new song. ]

We leave in four days. Be ready at dawn.

[cointosser]

[Jaskier laughs. He's in good humor, honestly, considering what happened to him. It's... simply a weight off his shoulders. He is thankful, even if he never voices it, that he does not need to navigate a new existence here alone.

That he can help, even. Not just Geralt. Others. The plague victims, and the people who come to hear him play. And, as he's been thinking on it... perhaps other monsters, as well.

A strange thing to think considering.]

You've never thrown me in a lake before. It would be a new, wonderful experience. [He grinned.] If, I believed for a second, you would do it.

[Bonded or not. Mm. Perhaps Geralt's patience with him would lessen that much with the bond. It was hard to say. Jaskier did not ask for many details simply because he wanted to figure it out himself. They needed it for... their own reasons.

He let Geralt take the contract back so he could get back to drinking his tankard dry.] I'll be there, then. But tomorrow I'm going to show up at your home in my Sunday best. So you better had not look like a ruffian when we go to bond.

[gynvael]

[ A sigh falls from his lips. Geralt goes back to drinking. He doesn't want to begrudge Jaskier's chipper attitude, but this whole thing is far more complicated for him. And conflicting.

He lifts his gaze. Tomorrow. No sense in dragging it out, he supposes. ]

Fine. I just need to take care of something.

[ He doesn't clarify what, but it might be obvious nonetheless. What else would there be except to talk to Yennefer? He isn't sure how she'll take it. But he knows how he would take it if she were to bond with someone who isn't him. No matter how irrational the feeling.

They've never been especially good at this. Any of it.

He pays for his drink and leaves enough for one more for Jaskier. Look, he owes him. And buying the bard liquor is easier than saying it out loud. ] Don't spend it all.